| Early reading ability is an important predictor of success in school. Although a large body of research examining the relationship between reading ability and school success has begun to accumulate, less is known about the ability of teachers, especially novice teachers, to teach reading to children from poor or near poor circumstances. Novice teachers often overestimate the abilities of their students who come from impoverished backgrounds, resulting in a mismatch between the novice teachers' expectations of their students' reading abilities and the students' actual abilities. This mismatch can lead to problems and frustrations for both the students and the teacher.;The current study explored mismatch as it related to language arts instruction. This was accomplished through a qualitative case study of a first-year kindergarten teacher. The data for this investigation were gathered through interviews, classroom observations, and document analysis over the course of an entire school year.;Holistic analysis of the data involved examination of interviews, field notes, and documents to identify themes regarding mismatch and the teacher's ability to overcome the mismatch with respect to language arts in her classroom. Three strategies emerged as important for overcoming the mismatch that existed in the classroom at the beginning of the school year: contextualizing learning, scaffolding, and modeling. Furthermore, strategy use was analyzed for effectiveness by comparing the teacher's instruction to theory (i.e., elaboration and meaningful learning; zone of proximal development---Vygotsky, 1934/1986; and observational learning---Bandura, 1986). From this analysis, it was also determined that the teacher's ability to utilize these three strategies effectively was developmental in nature. Experience allowed this teacher to become more knowledgeable about her students as well as her instructional delivery.;In summary, this research provides further support for the importance of understanding the impact of student development on successful instruction. Early and continual assessment of students' abilities was necessary for this teacher to experience success. |
